LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



LB/567 

©^np. ©upijrij]^ Ifu* 

Shelf '_.^-f7 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Hints on [anguage 



IN CONNECTION WITH 



SIGHT-READING AND WRITING 



IN 



PRIMARY AND INTERMEDIATE 

SCHOOLS 




BY 

S^ ARTHUR BENT, A.M. 

SUPKKINTENDENT OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF CLINTON, MASS. 



'DEC 3111 

BOSTON 
LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS 

NEW YORK CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM 
1886 



vt> 






Copyright, 1885. 
By Lee and Shepard. 



All Rights Reserved. 



HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 



Elkctkotypfd by 
C. J. Peteks AND Sox, Boston. 



PREFACE. 



Language-exercise is now found on the pro- 
2:ramme of most Primary Schools, from the lowest 
grade "upwards, The absence of a text-book, how- 
ever, on a subject which must be taught orally, 
makes instruction unsystematic and often unsuc- 
cessful. In order to suggest a method of graded 
class-work, which shall include under the head of 
Language whatever is taught in reading, writing, 
form, color, and number, the author offers the fol- 
lowing Hints to the profession, on the basis of 
experiments already attempted by teachers whose 
assistance is gratefully acknowledged. 

s. A. B. 
Clinton, Mass., October, 1885. 



CONTENTS. 



Grade I. 

PAGE 

Language-Teaching. — Its true place 7 

Talking as Language * 9 

Object Lessons in Language lo 

The Development Method ii 

/ See, O See, i:>ewe\oped 12 

A Cat, Developed 13 

/^an, Developed 15 

Review i" 

Third Month 1/ 

Writing 18 

Sight-Reading 19 

Phonic Exercise .22 

Thugh-book. Ugh-cat 22 

Lang.iage-Exercises 23 

T/ie Cat as Object-Lesson 28 

Vocabulary of Three Hundred Words 30 

Grade II. 

wSight-Reading . 33 

Definition Zl 

Spelling 37 

Language . , , . 38 

Picture Lessons 39 

Letter-Wfiting 43 

5 



6 CONTENTS. 

Correct Speech 44 

Dictation 45 

Number 45 

Abstract and Concrete 46 

Grade III. 

Ink 47 

Reading and Number 48 

Language 49 

Monday's Exercise 49 

Tuesday's " 51 

Wednesday's " 52 

Thursday's " 53 

Friday's " . 54 

Picture-Exercise on the Lion 56 

Picture-Exercise on Silk 56 

Geography 57 

Declamation 58 

Grade IV. and V. 

The Dictionary 59 

What Pupils now Know 59 

The Teacher's Programme 60 

Oral Methods j» . 61 

Exercise on the Camel ' 65 

Exercise on the Elephant 68 

Letter-Writing 70 

Books of Authority on Topics Suitable for Language Ex- 
ercise 72 

Teachers' Consulting Library 74 



HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 



Grade I. — First Year. 

Language is the medium through which man 

communicates with his fellow. The degree of his 

culture is measured by the comparative 
r 11 1 • • -I 1 • I 1 Language- 

fullness and precision with which he uses teaching. - 

this medium. Not so much the posses- Its true 
sion of knowledge as the ability to impart 
it makes him valuable to society. To teach him to 
convey his ideas correctly is, then, as high a task as 
to teach him the ideas themselves. But the teacher of 
Grade I. has the double duty of creating ideas in her 
pupils' minds, and of calling out the correct expres- 
sion of those ideas. Looked at broadly, it is not her 
business to teach her pupils to read or spell, to write 
or cipher, but to develop in them the correct use of 
the English language in its written or spoken forms. 
As the possession of ideas must precede the expres- 
sion of them, the teacher will first endeavor to sup- 
ply or create ideas in her pupils' minds. She does 
this through the operation of their senses, and in so 

7 



8 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

doing she merely introduces Nature's method into 
her schoolroom. Only in proportion as she makes 
herself Nature's assistant and interpreter will she 
succeed As oral precedes written communication, 
her work in language will begin with oral communi- 
cation ; but whether oral or written, it must be con- 
sidered first and last an exercise in language, of 
which reading, writing, spelling, and oral number- 
work are but the various forms. 

The child enters school with the power of speech, 
and with a small vocabulary of words, sufficient to 
express, more or less perfectly, his ideas. To en- 
large his vocabulary it is necessary to increase the 
number of his ideas. These wrll be obtained from 
objects, of which words are the symbols or represen- 
tatives. Teach, therefore, no word until the idea 
it represents is understood; but, on the other hand, 
make the symbol as familia?- as the object. Ks Nature 
presents objects as wholes, teach the symbols of 
these objects as wholes ; then analyze the objects in 
point of form, color, size, and their symbols in point 
of sound. (Raw teachers sometimes think that be- 
cause reading is no longer taught by analyzing 
words into their component letters, that the letters 
themselves are not to be taught ; and a teacher of 
Grade I. once objected to receiving a pupil because 
he did not know his letters, as if it were not her 
business to teach them.) 

As ideas are to be produced by means of objects, 
the objects must be shown. Talking about an ob- 



LANGUAGE-TEACHING ITS TRUE PLACE. Q 

ject conveys no tangible idea to the child. To 
appreciate he must see. If the object itself cannot 
be shown, it should be represented by a picture. If 
the picture be not at hand, one should be drawn 
upon the board. The act of drawing is itself inter- 
esting, as line after line completes a recognizable 
form before a group of eager spectators. The 
teacher of Grade I. should be able to talk easily, 
and to draw. She should herself talk in order to 
excite ideas and expression in her pupils, and to 
draw in order to convey visible form when other 
representations are lacking. 

Remember that your pupils, if left to themselves, 
would talk all the time. This tendency should not 
be repressed in Grade I., but directed into Talking as 
proper channels. In many cases the teach- Language, 
er's first duty is to overcome the timidity of certain 
children who find themselves in a strange room, sur- 
rounded perhaps by strangers, told to sit quietly in 
rows, facing a personage clothed with powers of, to 
them, vague and limitless authority. Be uiindfnl of 
first wipj-essions. A sunbeam from the teacher's 
heart may at once melt the child's soul into music 
like that of Memnon's statue ; a cross or nervous 
welcome, a frown or threat, will freeze it into stone. 
A schoolroom of this grade, awed into silence, is 
more depressing than the " Street of the Tombs " 
in Pompeii. Talk to your children merrily and 
heartily, and make them talk, — first to remove their 
timidity, and then to enlarge their power of expres- 



10 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

sion. Make them love to hear your voice, and your 
power over them will be unlimited. 

Make all your talking, however, tell. With this 
in view begin with objects of daily life, familiar to 
Object ^ children. Show the picture of a cat, a 
Lsssons in dog, or a hen, or point to some object in 
anguage. ^^ room, because the pujDil will recognize 
the S3'mbols of these objects sooner than those of 
objects hitherto unknown. Draw the picture of such 
objects as cannot be shown ; talk about them and let 
the children talk. In order that the power of lan- 
guage thus gained may be readily applied to read- 
ing, a list of three hundred words is given on page 
28, which are to be developed during the first five 
months of school life. This system will be pursued 
for two months at least, before any attempt is made 
to teach reading from print, because at least that 
length of time is necessary to provide a sufficient 
number of ideas clearly apprehended by the child's 
mind, and because it is only after such a probation- 
ary period that the symbols of those ideas, which we 
call words, will be also equally well defined and un- 
mistakably impressed, so that the symbol for cat 
cannot by any misapprehension be applied to the 
idea dog. Let us enter a schoolroom and see how 
this system of development may be applied to a 
class recently admitted. The first lesson, for in- 
stance, is " a dog." 

A group cf eight or ten children run from their 
seats at the teacher's call, and surround her at the 



THE DEVELOPMENT METHOD. II 

blackboard. No timidity is apparent, for they have 
become thoroughly acquainted with her be- ^^^ ^^_ 
fore the lesson is attempted. She has in velopment 
her mind the word to be developed, and Method, 
knows how to interest, which is the first step. " How 
many can tell me what their eyes are for ? " is her 
first question. " To see," " to look with." " Yes ; 
now open them wide and look straight at me, and 
see what I am going to do." The class are all atten- 
tion. With a few strokes of the crayon, and as rap- 
idly as possible, the teacher draws the outline of a 
dog. Before it is finished the whispered words, " It's 
a dog ! See the head ! See the legs ! " can be heard 
from the group. The children tell the teacher what 
it is, and a talk follows about dogs. The teacher 
asks what the dog says and does, and if they have 
one at home. She then writes the word on the 
board — ''a dog " — and says " a dog." " I will put 
the word a dog on the board for every little boy 
and girl." Each child covers his word with his 
hand, and all say the word " a dog " in natural voice. 
Ask different children what word thev have. All 
look at the word attentively, and then close their 
eyes and think how it looks. Finally ask them what 
they would do if a dog should come into school. 
"Laugh," says one. "Yes, probably, but should 
we let him stay ? " " No, we would drive him away." 
"Well, then, I think we had better send the dog we 
have here away." All erase in great haste, and then 
the teacher tells the children to run to their seats 



12 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

and make a picture of a dog like the one on the 
board (later on they will be able to copy the new 
word). 

We will now apply this method to a common 
idiom, like / see^ O see. " How many can tell me 
I See once more, this afternoon, what they do 
See, De- with their eyes ? " " Look, see, see ! " 
veloped. «< Yes, how do you know your teacher is 
here before you ? " " We can see you." " Yes, 
what did you see right here on the board this morn- 
ing? " "A dog." " W^ell, can you see a dog here 
now? No? Very well, look round the room and 
tell me what you can seeT Teacher starts the game 
by saying, "/see a clock; I see a book." The 
children join in with, " I see a bell, I see a chair, I 
see you," etc. " Run to the window and tell me 
what you can see. Now what do you see here ? " 
the teacher asks as they return, taking a toy dog 
from her pocket. " A dog ! a dog ! " " Yes, but tell 
me the ivhole story. When you were at the window 
you said ^ I see a bird ! I see a treeP Now what's 
the story about the dog? " " I see a dog," some one 
says. " Now I will wTite it on the board and all the 
children may say it over once^ twice, three times." " I 
see a dog," is the response, as the teacher writes the 
word up very high on the board, down low, in a dog- 
house, etc. " Children, if we should go out into 
the hall, and should see a real dog, what do you think 
we should say ? " '' A dog's out there ! " says one. 
" Perhaps so, but if you were very much surprised, 



I SEE, O SEE, DEVELOPED. 1 3 

as you would be to see a big, black dog in the hall, 
I think you would make your mouth very round and 
say, ' O see the dog ! ' " Teacher makes O see the 
dog on the' board. " Now, children, make believe 
you are surprised and say, ^ O see the dog ! ' " Com- 
pare O see and I see. Let them take their seats and 
make a picture of something they can see in the 
room. Ask them when they go home to use their 
eyes and tell you whatever they may see on the way. 
Let us now apply our method to teaching the sym- 
bol Cat. " How many are glad to come up here to 
see teacher this morning ? Those who are 
may raise their hands ; and, if you are very 
glad, you may raise both hands." "Good! Now 
how many remember what the story was about yes- 
terday ? Look at me and try very hard to think ; 
now the one who thinks first may come here and 
whisper the word to me." All but two of the ten 
get the right word, and go to the place indicated, by 
the teacher's desk. Reward these children by let- 
ting them clap their hands vigorously for a few sec- 
onds, then let the one who thought first tell the 
word for the benefit of the two children who did not 
know. The teacher then writes the word a dog on 
the board several times, then the stories, I see a dog! 
O see a dog ! The children distinguish between the 
two, and different ones repeat the sentences, " How 
many remembered to use their eyes coming to 
school this morning ? " A few tell what they saw, and 
then the teacher asks if they would like to know 



14 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

what she saw on her way to school. " Well, I will 
tell you all about it, and I will see if you can guess 
what it was. As I was walking along, something 
came right out from behind a tree, and ran across 
the road. Now, it was about so long ; it was all 
white, and had four legs and a long tail. What 
do you think it was 1 " " A dog, a hen, a cat," are 
the various answers. " Well, children, it looked to 
me very much like this;" and the teacher draws 
rapidly the picture of a cat running. (If the teacher 
can not do this, she might tell the class to close 
their eyes while she gets a toy cat, a pasteboard 
representation of a cat, such as are very common as 
advertisements, or, as a last resort, she may show 
the picture of a cat, but be sure to show some repre- 
sentation of the real object, and if possible draw 
it^ Talk about the cat as about the dog, and write 
a cat under the picture. Write it many times, and 
let the children sav "a cat." Then write the word 
in yellow, red, blue, green crayons. Let the pupils 
close their eyes ; then hide the new word, /. <?., write 
it on different parts of the board, and at the same 
time write " a dog " to see if the children can dis- 
tinguish one from the other. The new word may be 
written in a column of unfamiliar words, and the 
word " a cat " picked out. Finally, write the word 
in very large letters, and refer the children to it just 
before going home. Ask them to tell mamma about 
the new word they have learned. Of course, the 
idioms / see, O see, must be written in connection 



RAN. 15 

with a cat, and the stories " I see a dog," " I see a 
cat " compared. The word rat would naturally 
come next, and would be introduced when the story 
of the cat is reviewed and continued. 

Let us now take the action word ra7i. The teacher 
says next morning. " Children, the cat that I told 
you about yesterday, and told you I had at 
home" — "I know, the one with the short 
tail," interrupts Johnnie. " Yes, Johnnie, that very 
one went down into the cellar last night, and what 
do you think she saw ? " " Some rats," is the im- 
mediate answer. " Yes, now what do you suppose 
she did ? " " Chased them ! " says one. " Ran ! " 
says another. " True, the cat ran and the rats ran. 
Now for a nice game ! I am going to let Frank 
make believe he is a cat, because he is the largest 
boy, and all the rest may be rats. Now, then, the 
rats may start and run round the table, and the cat 
may run after them. Quick ! " This is great fun, and 
the cat and rats start off at full speed. When they 
return they are bright and animated with the exer- 
cise. " Now, tell me quickly what you did just 
now." "We ran." "But the cat didn't catch me," 
says one, " Yes, you all ran. Look, see what the 
chalk says," — ran, ran, ran is written hastily on the 
board. All say the word over and over again. 
" Now, children, it says I ran, I ran, now a cat ran, 
a dog ran,''' etc. The teacher compares rat with 
ran, and then turning suddenly says : " Now, you 
may all run to your seats." 



1 6 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

After the words a boy. a girl have been taught, in- 
troduce a few famihar proper names — Frank, Tom, 
Max, Nell, Ann, etc. It is an easy matter after a 
few object and action words have been introduced 
to teach the quahty words. A very fat pig can be 
drawn and compared with a lean one, a large hat 
with a small one, etc. If the teacher should tell a 
story about a boy \vho robbed a bird's nest, and then 
ask the question, Was he a good or a bad boy ? the 
desired word would be almost surely spoken by the 
children. 

We will now suppose all the words under the 
heading " First and Second Months " have been 
properly developed. The pupils have by 
Review. j_|^-^ \\VLiQ a vocabulary of fifty-five words, 
and can tell them simply or in sentences. The les- 
sons will now be conducted on a little different plan 
from that employed when only one or two words 
were known. At the end of the second month we 
will suppose the teacher to be again before her 
class. The children now know what these lessons 
are, and spring eagerly forward at the mention of 
Johnnie's or Nellie's class. Turning quickly to the 
board the teacher says : " We will have a story this 
morning about a good boy (the italicized words are 
put on the board and told by the class) of the 
name of Tom. This boy lived on a farm in the 
country. Now, he had a great many things to do ; 
he had a fat pig^ an old red cow, a white hen and 
sojne chicks, and a big ox to feed and take care of 



REVIEW. 17 

every day. One day he took a walk into the woods 
with a little girl. Who do you think she was? Yes, 
his sister, and she took her doll ^\\\\ her, and a 
large Jan, too, for it was very warm. Their little dog 
Jip went with them, and did a great many funny 
things. They saw a sly fox, and Jip ran after him 
for a long way," etc. And so the story might con- 
tinue until all the words are brought in. The next 
day an entirely different story may be told. This, 
however, is only one of the many ways of reviewing 
the words. They may fill the rounds of a red lad- 
der, be packed into a blue trunk, or put into a 
basket, or, what is still more interesting, be hung on 
the branches of a Christmas tree. Aim to give the 
children a variety of exercise ; try to do something 
different in each lesson. 

In the " third month " the words are a little more 
difficult, but the ideas they express are still familiar. 
Many of these object words would naturally Third 
come into the same story. Frank might Month. 
catch a fish in the pond, and put it into a pail. A 
frog might jump into the water, a ship, swan, or duck 
might be seen on the water, etc. At the end of the 
second month the child is able to besfin to read from 
the chart ; during the third month he can read the 
first half. The printed words must be compared with 
the script, so that at the end of the third month the 
class will be able to put into script on their slates 
the printed stories on the chr.rt. When this is done 
much will have been accomplished, and the class 



1 8 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

will take up the book at the beginning of the fourth 
month with little difficulty. 

During the progress of the development method 
in teaching reading and language at the same time, 

the pupil is learnins^ to write. Besiin on 
■Writing. . 

his entrance to school with the letters com- 
posed of the simplest strokes, like u and ;?, i and e, 
written on slates ruled with lines not less than a 
quarter of an inch apart. Teach a large round 
hand. It can hardly be too large to overcome the 
pupil's tendency to write a small contracted hand. 
Before the words of the " first and second months " 
are developed, the pupil will be able to write them, 
certainly the simplest of them. When the chart is 
taken, he will write most of its sentences, at least 
two or three of each page. Teach also as early as 
possible the capitals A, which begins an army of sen- 
tences, and I. As soon as the script words of the 
board are compared with printed words upon the 
chart, teach the pupil to connect the two in their 
minds, and note their correspondence and differ- 
ences. Teach the class to hold the slate pencil 
exactly as you would teach them to hold a pen if 
you w^ere teaching penmanship. See that the slates 
lie upon the desks, and do not rest on the child's 
lap and the. edge of the desk. Write a copy for 
the class on the board in a round hand, more care- 
fully executed than is possible in the hurried man- 
ner of developing words. Let the class practice 
the use of crayon on the board, and in such exer- 



WRITING. 19 

cise teach an easy swinging method of making 
curves, ovals, and circles. Continue this in higher 
grades, to counteract the cramping tendency of 
copy-books and paper, where pupils think they must 
be particular and so hold the pen as in a vice, with 
effects fatal to freedom and elasticity. When your 
other duties permit, see how the class write by look- 
ing at their work when it is in progress. Continue 
this inspection in all grades, and do not let your 
pupils learn to apply the proverb of the Russian 
peasants to excuse their shiftlessness : " Heaven is 
high and the czar afar off." Gradually, as the year 
goes on, the first grade will learn to write all that 
they read. Make this the end and aim of your 
work in writing, which should be to connect it with 
and make it a part of reading and language-exer- 
cise, or rather, one of the departments of the devel- 
opment of language in the pupils committed to your 
care. To teach children to read what, after a proper 
time, they cannot write, is like a boy walking on stilts 
of unequaj length. 

The child has now been taught to read, through 
the medium of language-exercises of the most im- 
portant character. Not only has he gained 
a large number of ideas and found symbols ''* 

for their expression, but he has prepared himself to 
apply to oral expression those symbols when printed, 
which we call reading. 

Having been taught to talk easily and naturally he 
reads naturally, and as if he were talking. From 



20 HINTS OX LANGUAGE. 

this time the teacher's task is easy, and reading 
becomes as natural an exercise as talking. A sen- 
tence with the question-mark presents no difficulty, 
because the pupil was taught to modulate his inflec- 
tion in asking a question while he was engaged in 
the development-work upon the board. In reading 
from the chart do not point to words separately, or 
one by one. That habit causes the pupil to merely 
pronounce the individual words of a sentence, — I-see- 
a-cat, — which is not reading. Let the pupil read 
each sentence silently, then aloud as a whole. The 
success of your entire year, and that of teachers to 
follow you, depends upon a direction so simple and 
yet so necessary. When, however, your pupils have 
read the chart intelligently, they are ready, at the 
end of the fourth month, to take a book, and the 
work of language-exercise goes on under new con- 
ditions, but on the same principles and with similar 
results. 

When the book is to be introduced, call a squad 
into the floor and hand them the primers from your 
desk. They will thank you for them as for any gift. 
Select the new words, and put the first one on the 
board. If none know it, tell its name and meaning. 
Place it in a sentence, or let the children do so. Do 
not tell the new word if they can discover it them- 
selves. Suppose the first sentence is : " The bird 
sits on the branch of the tree." All the words but 
b?'a?ic/i you know to be familiar to the class. Ask 
where the bird is. " On the tree," some will say. 



READING. 21 

" Yes, but on what part of the tree ? " '' On the 
limb, branch, twig," will be the various answers. If 
the word branch does not appear, draw a tree and 
teach the new word from the picture. Let the class 
find the new word in the lesson. When they take 
their seats they will write such words more than 
once. When on the floor, teach them to talk in such 
a way as to brmg ni the new words. Do not lose 
sight of the fact that the reading-lesson, like all 
your work, is a language-exercise ; and develop new 
words m the book in the same manner as those on 
the card. Ask pupils questions which can be an- 
swered by short sentences. Avoid such as may be 
answered by merely yes or iio^ or by a repetition of 
the thought of the question. So, in higher grades, 
do not recite the pupil's lessons for him, leaving him 
to approve of your statements by a monosyllable. 

See that every pupil reads each sentence silently. 
Then let each out of turn read a sentence. Then 
let the story be read m turn from the beginning. 
Each pupil thus reads the whole story silently for 
the thought, and two sentences at least for oral ex- 
pression. When that is done let the class close 
books and tell the story. They can then run to 
their seats and write what they can remember, or 
such sentences as the teacher may prescribe. Let 
them recall the story oE the previous day, and write 
it in their own language. 

Teach all words phonetically, and use diacritical 
marks at your discretion. Phonic drill tends to 



22 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

open the mouth, a very important habit. Each word 
Phonic Ex- when taught should be distinctly pronounced 
ercise. by the teacher, making each sound sepa- 
rately. The class must then imitate her. Train 
them to open the mouth from the first day. Timidity 
on entering school closes the mouth, and confirmed 
bad habit produces mumbling. First make children 
feel at home, then make them speak distinctly. In 
all grades make them look at you when they recite, 
and not at the window. The seeds of bad habits of 
enunciation and recitation in grammar grades are 
sown in the first years of school life. 

Do not allow the child in reading to say thugh- 
book, ugh-cat. This is not a part of the " New 
Thuffh- Education," although raw teachers have 
book. done that system great injustice by suppos- 
ing -ca . jj^g -^ ^^ consist in substituting thugh-book for 
the-book, and ugh-cat for a-cat. Neither is correct ; 
nor is thugh pronounced separately any improve- 
ment upon the. The proper pronunciation is that 
suo:2:ested in the " Manual of the Board of Educa- 
tion " of New York City : When the child reads 
the in a sentence, as, See the cat and the dog play, let 
him pronounce it with the following word, as if it 
formed the first syllable of that word, speaking the 
lightly as [e] in the words e-vent\ evade'. The a, 
when used as a word in like circumstances, should 
be pronounced like a in a-miise'. 

Language has hitherto been considered in connec- 
tion with reading ; but language lessons as such should 



LANGUAGE EXERCISES. 23 

simultaneously form a part of every day's work. 
They begin with a child's entrance to school ; Language 
for " making him talk " is but a language les- Exercises, 
son in disguise. These lessons have as objects opera- 
tion of the senses, quickening of the imagination, 
proper expression of ideas gained by the senses, the 
use of new idioms, etc. They are to be given to a squad 
of ten or twelve, not to the whole school. The time 
of each lesson will be about fifteen minutes. The 
manner and style in which these lessons are given, 
and their results, will largely depend upon each 
teacher's originality. The following hints may be 
useful : Present a picture, and let the children look 
at it closely. Ask them to tell you what they see. 
Be sure everything is mentioned, and in complete 
sentences, as, / see a dog, not a dog, a cat. Then 
lead them on by saying : " I think the dog will catch 
the cat." They will naturally follow by : "I think 
the cat will climb the tree," etc. Aid pupils by the 
use of the interrogatives 7a/io, which, what, where, 
what kind, how many, why. Children should give 
sentences including all the objects in the picture, 
their color and position, what they are, where they 
have been, what they are doing, or have been doing, 
what they are made of (if animals, their habits, uses, 
etc.). If children are represented, let the class give 
their names, where they live, what they probably 
have at home, etc. Pupils find difficulty in learning 
and properly using brief idiomatic expressions. 
They may best be taught by picture lessons. The 



24 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

following should constantly be brought in and 
spoken so many times that they become perfectly 
familiar : lliis is, it is, here is, there are, she has, they 
have, I think, I see, etc. Give several lessons from 
one picture. In the first, note in a general way all 
the objects in the picture, the names of which may 
be written in the picture. Next notice the quality, 
color (if animals, their habits and uses) ; thirdly, the 
position, what they are doing, where they are going, 
etc. In each successive lesson on the picture, re- 
view all that has been said before. The following 
exercise was given by a teacher during the latter 
part of the first year. One day she took a picture 
representing an o!d sheep and a lamb. A tall girl 
with a red dress was giving the sheep some grass 
from her hand,, while a large boy was holding 
his baby brother on the sheep's back. The 
baby had a long stick in his hand, and his hat 
(yellow) was on the ground. The children were ap- 
parently in the field, and the house, barn, tr^es, 
fence could be seen in the distance. The class 
spent about ten minutes in the morning talking 
about the picture, noticing the objects in it in point- 
of color and size, and the following words were 
written on the board near the picture : old sheep, 
sheep's back, little laml), brother, baby boy, whip, 
hand, tall girl, 7'ed dress, yellow hat, green grass, barn^ 
field, house, trees. Many of these words were famil- 
iar to the children ; nevertheless they were all 
written, and were copied several times until the 



LANGUAGE EXERCISES. 25 

pupils' slates were full. The words were then 
erased, and in the afternoon the class wrote the 
names of all the objects they could see in the pict- 
ure from memory. They wrote correctly most of 
the words they had copied in the morning. They 
were familiar with all the idioms referred to else- 
where {this is, it is, etc.), so that in the afternoon 
they wrote stories about the objects they could see 
in the picture, and such sentences as the following 
were produced : " Here is an old sheep and a little 
lamb." " I see a baby on the sheep's back." " He 
has a long whip." " I see the brother," " He is a 
great boy." " This is a good girl." " She has some 
green grass." " She has a red dress on." " I see the 
yellow hat." " I see the barn." " I see the house." 
"They are in the field." These were disconnected, 
but in almost every case correct, beginning with a 
capital and ending with a period. The teacher cop- 
ied such sentences as could be used later, and the 
stories were erased. The next day, when the teacher 
suggested another talk about the picture, all were 
interested and eager. Having noted the objects in the 
picture, the class were ready to talk about the story 
it contained. They were told to look at the picture 
for a few moments, and think what the children 
were doing, what their names were, etc. In less 
than a minute every hand was up, and these stories 
were given orally in quick succession : " I think the 
big boy's name is Frank and the little boy's name 
is Johnnie." " Frank is giving his baby brother a 



26 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

ride." " Johnnie likes to sit on the sheep's back, 
it is so soft." " Nell is feeding the old sheep." 
"The little lamb is hungry, too." "The little boy 
has a whip in his hand ; I think he will hit the 
sheep." " The little boy's hat has fallen off." " I 
think they all live in that house." " When it is night 
the sheep and the lamb will go into the barn." 
Many more sentences are given, and, the ten minutes 
having expired, the teacher tells the children to take 
their seats and write all the stories they have told, 
everything they can think of about the picture. The 
teacher wrote on the board such words as they had 
used in their oral stories and were unable to write, 
but which they would need to use in writing : viz., 
Franks Johnnie^ Nellie^ sheep's back, giving^ feedings 
ride, soft, fallen, live, night, etc., and promised to write 
any other words called for. When the slates were 
examined half an hour later, nearly all the stories told 
orally were written. The best sentences are put on 
paper by the teacher, and the slate-work is erased. 

The next day the teacher asked the class of what 
use the sheep was, and a long talk followed. Some 
one knew that the flesh was good for food, another 
had ideas on the wool which grows on the sheep's 
back. They were told how sheep are washed and 
sheared, and the wool put into bags and sent to 
mills in Clinton and woven into cloth by the parents 
of some of the class. A piece of wool was shown, 
and the boys were told that their jackets were made 
of it. The children were much interested, and 



LANGUAGE EXERCISES. 2/ 

gained some information, but they were unable to 
write many stories, their vocabulary not being large 
enough to enable them to write a composition on Wool. 
Such short sentences were obtained as : " There 
is wool on the sheep's back." " It is thick, it is 
soft, it is warm." "We make cloth of it." " Mv 
coat has wool in it." "The wool will keep us 
warm." But when the teacher questioned them the 
next day, they remembered all they had been told. 
For a final lesson a review was made of all the pre- 
vious lessons, anH the following story was written on 
the board for the children to read over and copy ac- 
curately. This story is composed entirely of the chil- 
dren's best sentences, which were taken down by the 
teacher when the lessons were given, and the class 
so understood it. As the teacher wrote the first 
story, she said : " This story I found on Mary's 
slate ; who can read it ? " and so on : — 

Here is an old sheep and a little lamb. There is wool on 
the sheep's back. It is soft and white. I think the large 
boy's name is Frank. He is giving the little boy a 
ride. His name is Johnnie. I think Johnnie likes ^* 

to ride on the sheep's back. He will not fall off. He has a 
whip m his hand. He will hit the old sheep. The little boy's 
hat fell off I can see Nellie. She is feeding the old sheep. 
She IS a good girl. She has a red dress on. She will give the 
lamb some grass. They are in the field. Frank will put the 
sheep and the lamb in the barn at night. I should like to have 
a little lamb. 

Simple lessons on the domestic animals furnish an 
excellent subject for language-exercise. 



2S HINTS ON LANGUAGE, 

Take the cat, for instance. Ask (he children to 

name and tell you about its different parts. If all 

„, ^ , the teacher orets from them is merely / see 
The Cat as ^ ^ 

Object Les-^^^^ ^-r7/,r, /see the feet, etc., the lesson will be 
son. of but little use ; but if the teacher should 

ask if the cat's eyes are different from ours, tell them 
to notice her eyes when the sun shines or wlien it 
is dark, explain how and why she sees in the dark, 
call attention to the sharply-curved jdIus in her 
cushioned paws, ask what she does when she is 
happy or irritated, notice the rough tongue, call out 
the sly, furtive habit of approaching her prey, and 
her deceptive amiability ; the cat will be invested 
with a new interest in the child's mind, and will 
undergo thorough inspection at home. In all this do 
not tell them anything they can discover as facts for 
themselves. Make a list of animals, grouping those 
with hoofs, with horns, etc., and write down a brief 
synopsis of their uses, habits, whether wild or 
domestic, where found, how caught, how^ tamed. 
Not less than in higher grades is preparation neces- 
sary in Grade I. for a proper presentation of the 
subject-matter of instruction. 

In addition to these special language lessons, cer- 
tain general exercises should be given once or twice 

a week during the first three or four months 
General ^^ school life. They should be short, occu- 

pying five or six minutes, and should include 
the entire school. The purpose of these lessons is 
to bring children to talk freely, to observe closely 



GENERAL EXERCISES. 29 

what they see, and to be able to describe it, and to 
brnis: out original sentences from all. Take the 
children as soon as they come in from the play- 
ground. Ask one who is apt to talk what he has been 
doing. His description of some game he has en- 
gaged in will lead others to join in the conversation, 
unconsciously. Ask the children when they say 
good-by to remember to tell something next ses- 
sion that they saw on their way home, the color, 
size, etc. As the subject of another conversation 
ask how they spent the last holiday ; ask them if 
they have ever been to Boston, New York, to the 
nearest city, into the country, or to the seashore. 
Let them tell their experiences, what they did or 
saw. By asking questions bring them to tell what 
they have at home, their pets, playthings, and about 
the baby. Let them put their heads down on their 
desks and dream, then rise and relate their dreams. 
This cultivates their imaginative as well as conversa- 
tional powers. Perform some act, or let the chil- 
dren do so. Some one will be called upon to tell 
what was done, m such sentences as : " You opened 
the window and shut the blinds," " James took a 
block and put it on John's desk." Let them think 
of everything that can run, fly, hop, etc. "• A bird 
can fly." " A cat can run." Try guessing and 
thinking games. Suggest to the children that they 
make pictures on their slates, giving each row a sub- 
ject. x\t the close of the session let the one who 
has the best picture tell all about it. Tell some in- 



30 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

teresting story, illustrating it by drawing as you pro- 
ceed ; then call upon them to repeat the story next 
day. Give the children little cards with one object- 
word written upon each, and let them make sen- 
tences with that word in them. Put a list of words 
on the board ; let the children rise, and each give 
a sentence wdth one of those words in it. 

Endeavor to make all their lessons in drawing, clay- 
modelling, color, and number, language lessons, re- 
quiring the pupil to give complete answers : This is 
a sphere. It is pe?-fecfly round. Th?'ee blocks and 
four blocks are seven blocks. My stick is yellow. If 
you put blue and yellow together you ivill have green 
color. 

VOCABULARY OF WORDS. 

This vocabulary contains three hundred words to 
be developed during the first five months (twenty 
weeks) of school life. The following words are 
not included, being taught or pronounced with 
object- words : a, an, the, and such idioms as, this 
is, it is, I have, I see, I think, ca?i you, who has., let 
me, etc. 

Object-words may be changed to their plural form 
and a few proper names added from time to time. 
Use frequently the question-mark. Make reviews by 
constantly repeating words already learned in con- 
nection with new ones. 

Words preceded by the asterisk are to be taught 
by association in sentences. 



vocabulary of words. 3 1 

First and Second Months. 

Rat, cat, mat, hat, boy, girl, man, fan, pan, top, 
ball, hen, pig, cow, bell, mug, tub, kid, dog, doll, 
hay, cup, cap, egg, bird, bee, ox, box, fox. 

See, ran, hit, sat, catch, get, fed, spin, eat, lay, fly. 

White, red, fat, big, little, pretty, old, sly, good. 

* Yes, no, not, and, at, on. 

Third Month. 

Horse, oats, lamb, chair, ship, fish, dish, swan, 
pond, duck, book, corn, nuts, nest, tree, chick, kitten, 
milk, cake, frog, water, pail, cage, rabbit, basket, 
grass, bush, rose, branch, hill. 

Lie, look, play, sing, jump, go, lap, put, build. 

Blue, black, happy, small, large, bad, new, one, 
two, three, four, long, tall. 

* Where, very, how, but, for, to, in, with. 

Fourth Month. 

Sister, brother, boat, lake, slate, desk, door, house, 
floor, mouse, trap, eye, face, cheek, mouth, nose, 
hand, morning, night, goat, kite, tail, string, school, 
home, cart, worm, glass, dress, coat, name, game, 
bear, paw, bread, apple, spool, robin, crow, wing. 

Beg, buy, fall, take, ask, stand, give, work, love, 
write, read, hide, make, row, come, drink, ride, walk, 
stop, drop, help, hatch. 

Green, nice, funny, warm, poor, five, six, seven, 
some, bright, sweet, brave, tame. 



^2 . HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

* After, if, that, when, here, from, too, please, 
wish, thank. 

Fifth Month. 

Sheep, horn, farm, barn, teacher, papa, mamma, 
baby, wool, wood, stove, candy, snow, wagon, pony, 
stick, summer, winter, drum, sled, playthings, shell, 
sand, plant, leaf, flower, picture, sun, head, ear, 
chin, hair, clothes, flag, boot, clock, ground, knife, 
fork, spoon, plate, lamp, child, friend, lady, rain. 

Help, slide, carry, draw, hold, keep, bring, meet, 
hear, grow, tell, strike, swim, throw, buzz, count, 
drive, stay, find, hope, shine. 

Polite, best, kind, cross, young, great, any, eight, 
nine, ten, cold, yellow, brown, dear, pleasant, hard, 
soft, sick, dark, every, still, glad, fast, merry. 

"^Always, well, out, much, over, into, down, then, 
there. 



Grade II. — Second Year. 

jRea^ cai'efully the preceding pages. Much of it 
concerns your work. The pupils of Grade I. have 
during the year, since their entrance to school, devel- 
oped the words on the card, read the chart and all 
the primers in the market at sight. They are now 
ready to enter Grade IL, and continue their growth 
in language in more extended form. They have 
learned to read, and read correctly because under- 



READING. 33 

standingly, in Grade I. From this time on, reading 
is only practice in whatever grade it may occur. 
The method is not different, at least until Grade IV. 
is reached. New words are taught in the same 
manner in Grades II. and III. as in Grade I. The 
class come into the floor without having seen the 
lesson, and are eager to read a new story. If they 
had studied their lesson thev would read it with no 
interest, any more than adults would read a novel 
with interest the second time in the same day. 
There is not on this subject one rule for the man 
and another for the child, but in the tertiary period 
of education it was not thought necessary that chil- 
dren should be interested in what they read. If it 
were only "good," and they read it without stumb- 
ling, it was enough. But, on the other hand, sight- 
reading, as we have defined it, kills machine reading. 
It is no more necessary for a primarian to study 
his reading lesson (competent instruction being 
always presupposed) than it is for an adult to study 
the newspaper he intends to read to his family. In 
either case there may be a word he does not know. 
The adult consults his dictionary, the primarian his 
teacher. The difference is only in the source of 
information. 

The teacher may ask a few questions about the 
picture which accompanies the lesson, but not to a 
great extent, for when the book is read at 
sight such questions are properly review 
questions. It will be better for her to say, " We are 



34 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

going to read about a picnic the children had in a 
grove near the house. I must first teach you a word 
or two that you may better enjoy the story." Write 
such on the board. Let each child find the print 
word in the book corresponding to the script word 
on the board, and point to it, pronouncing it. The 
teacher explains the word, or, better, she draws its 
meaning from the class. Make each word as familiar 
to the child as the picture or object is, and explain 
quality and action words as in Grade I. Let the 
pupils read each sentence silently, and do not divide 
sentences if possible, thereby letting the voice fall 
before the idea is complete. (Hence in Grade IL, 
as in Grade L, only simple sentences should be used ; 
the semi-colon, and compound and complex sen- 
tences belong to Grade IIL) Struggle against the 
habit or inclination of dropping the voice at a 
comma. In some schools this is a universal blemish 
in reading. If not overcome in Grade II. , where 
commas are properly introduced into reading-books, 
it will disfigure all subsequent attempts to read. 
Call upon pupils out of turn to read sentence by 
sentence. If one pupil does not use correct expres- 
sion, emphasis, or inflection, call upon a second or 
third until you obtain it. That is better than sug- 
gesting it, but when once discovered the teacher 
may dwell upon it, and call upon the class to repeat 
the phrase or sentence correctly. Beware of much 
recitation in common, however. It is a relic of the 
machine. It helps ignorance hide its deficiency by 



READING. 55 

silence. It is particularly odious in oral spelling, as 
it begets a sing-song and listless enunciation. Have 
the story read through a second time, as in Grade I. 
Call for synonyms in the case of new or difficult 
words, especially quality or action words. Opening 
a second reader at random, we find such words as 
hovered^ darted^ flaxen, peeiish, cowa?'d, mii7^inu7'ed, 
grandly, puzzled, uncoil, quivered, powdered, delicate, 
prisoner, civil, ?'uffled, tiny, cunning, sniffed, timidly. 
These words need explanation from the teacher, be- 
cause no amount of ''• study " at his seat would give 
a child of six or seven years an idea of the shade of 
meaning suggested by the word " quivered " or 
•'murmured." And on the other hand to tell him 
the words, that is, to pronounce them for the pupil, 
teaches him neither the idea nor its symbol. It 
only supplies for the moment the missing link in a 
chain of disconnected words. Nevertheless such 
so-called "study," supplemented when it failed, as 
it did constantly, by the teacher pronouncing the 
word, was once considered sufficient to produce 
good readers. Nor is sight-reading, literally inter- 
preted, any better. To put a book into a child's 
hand and tell him to read for the first time any piece 
without the slightest preparation is as sensible as to 
ask a blind man to describe the paintings in a pict- 
ure gallery. True sight-reading is the continuation 
in higher grades of the development method of the 
list of words, illustrated in the work of Grade I.' 
The instruction necessary to attach an idea to other 



36 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

wise meaningless symbols is a language-exercise. 
Look upon it as such, and reflect that it gives the 
reading exercise its chief value. Sight-reading, using 
that term, always in the sense of a development 
exercise, allows opportunity for practice in language 
which would be impossible if pupils only came into 
the floor to read what they had previously studied, 
and knew by heart, with the exception of certain 
words to be told by the teacher. But legitimate 
sight-reading as an aid to the development of lan- 
guage, and language-exercise as a help to reading, 
take the pupil hand in hand through this and each 
succeeding grade. 

Do not, therefore, in this or any grade, tell a pu- 
pil to spell a word over which he stumbles. That 
may give him the pronunciation, although it is hard 
to show how his saying see-a-tee suggests the pronunci- 
ation cat. Remember that it is not pronunciation 
you are now looking for, but thought. The idea 
will call out the word. The word will not suggest the 
idea, otherwise he would not have stumbled. Apply 
the development method in any grade, and the read- 
ing thus produced is sight-reading, and sight-reading 
is true reading, the only reading worthy of the name. 
It is not supplanted by study until the pupil is old 
enough to develop the thought himself assisted by a 
dictionary. 

Do not ask the meaning of a single word, or at- 
tempt to define it, if it is part of a phrase, or if it 
requires some other word in the text to complete 



SPELLING. 37 

its meaning. Define two or more words together 

if they are closely connected. Avoid tech- 

. . ^ . . , , . . Definition, 

meal definitions, but when it is necessary to 

give one, let it be brief, compact, and complete. Be- 
ware of loose definitions, and do not use the word 
you are defining or any part of it : as, Definition is 
defining a 7Vord. Such a definition only moves you 
in a circle. In this grade begin to call for words of 
similar sound but of dissimilar meaning. Use sen- 
tences containing such words, and call attention to 
any differences in spelling. "There" and "their" 
are sources of frequent confusion. Tail and tale^ 
leaves^ scefit, close, (also ^''clothes'''' mispronounced), 
hair and hare, hear, sew, left, here, right, are but a 
few which will occur to the teacher. 

When the whole story has been read call upon 
each scholar for a sentence from it, of original form 
if possible. You will find that after the three read- 
ings described above, the class will know the entire 
story, and be able to tell it. 

Separate spellmg from reading. Do not remove 
the impression of the story by a mechanical exercise. 
When the piece is read, let the squad on 
going to their seats write the abstract of it, ^^ ^ ^' 
such as they may have already given orally. In the 
meantime the next squad comes out and takes 
the books. (Hence, when the town or city owns the 
books, a dozen copies will equip a class with read- 
ing material.) Make spelling a separate exercise. 
Do not in any grade think your pupils will under- 



38 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

Stand a word b}^ merely spelling it. If that were so, 
dictionaries would be unnecessary. Spelling teaches 
pronunciation, but reading has ceased, or ought 
to cease, to be a pronouncing exercise. Oral spell- 
ing should aim at producing clear enunciation and 
correct pronunciation. Each word should be pro- 
nounced by the pupil before and after spelling, but 
spelling by syllables is obsolete. It is well, how- 
ever, for pupils to divide the word into syllables 
mentally, making a slight pause between each. Oral 
spelling should be a review of the week's written 
work. It should be largely occupied with words 
spelled incorrectly during that time. Such mistakes 
may be noticed by writing them on the board, call- 
ing attention to them and then erasing them. Let 
no incorrect word remain longer on the board in any 
grade than is necessary for correction. " When seen 
too oft," it may delude into permanent error. 

The language- work in Grade II. is written, just 
as most of that of Grade I. is oral. It is first written 
on slates, then transferred to ruled paper. In 
the early part of the year, when many new 
words are presented to the children, an exercise like 
the following may be beneficial. Write upon the 
board ten or more new words which have been devel- 
oped during the readnig lesson, and let the class put 
them into sentences. The following words may serve 
as an illustration : 7'obm, away, thank, send, eel, sivan, 
Jump, happy, mill, almost. When the class has giv- 
en the following sentences orally, the teacher will 



PICTURE LESSONS. 39 

write theJn on the board : " The robin sings sweetly." 
"I am going away to-night." "I thank my mother 
when she gives me something to eat." " My sister 
will send me to the store after school." " An eel 
is a funny fish." ""Aswan has a long neck." "I 
can jump over a stone wall." " I am a happy little 
girl." " My father works in the mill." " I was al- 
most late at school this morning." Let the class 
copy these sentences on their slates ; and then call 
upon different members to read them. In all such 
cases reject incomplete sentences, or such as merely 
bring in the required word with one or two others. 
Children naturally compose short sentences, but as 
their ideas expand their expression of them should 
be gradually developed. The teacher says : " Give 
me a sentence containing the word discouragedy " I 
am discouraged," says a boy. That may be true, 
but the idea is incomplete, however perfect the sen- 
tence may be. No one can be discouraged without a 
cause for* discouragement. Therefore a sentence 
which shall contain this word and be fully expressed 
should be given in such form as this : " I am dis- 
couraged because I cannot read as well as Mary." 

Pictures play an even more important part in this 
grade than in Grade I. because the work to be done 
with them is capable of greater develop- 
ment. Every teacher should make a laro^e Ji*^^^^^ 

•' . * Lessons, 

collection of good pictures. They may be 

cut out of illustrated papers and pasted on stout 
cardboard. Pictures of animals are among those 



40 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

most successfully employed. In giving a lesson to 
a class on this subject, begin by taking any of the 
domestic animals, as all children are more or less 
familiar with them, and will therefore talk more 
freely and intelligently about them. Remember that 
in these exercises you are endeavoring to expand 
the pupil's power of expression. You do this by ex- 
citing him to talk, not by talking yourself. This is 
true of language-work in all grades. With young 
children a teacher should limit herself at first to the 
most obvious and best known features of animals, 
and gradually extend her range of instruction as her 
pupils are prepared for it. The following lesson on 
the cow was given to a class during the first month 
of the second year. Two lessons were required to 
complete the exercises, the first being devoted to 
oral expression and to copying all new words by the 
class, the second to written work. A large picture 
of a cow was procured, one that the class could easily 
see (or the animal may be sketched on the black- 
board). Words suggestive of the different parts to 
be talked about, as Head, Neck, Horns, Tail, Teeth, 
Hoofs, etc., were written around the picture. The 
class were asked if any of them had ever noticed 
a peculiar habit which cattle have Avhen standing 
in the barnyard, or when lying down after feeding. 
As no one seemed to know what was referred to, 
the teacher told them about the cow chewing the 
cud. Then a talk followed about the hoofs. The 
horse's hoofs were said to be whole, but a cow's are 



PICTURE LESSONS. 4I 

divided. The class were shown a picture of a cow's 

hoof They were told that a cow rises upon her 

hind feet first. The several uses of the cow were 

then brought out, but nothing was written in this 

lesson. The next day the following was written by 

the class upon their slates from the previous day's 

conversation ; — 

The cow has a large head, short neck, and long tail. She 
has two horns on her head. She has no front teeth on her 
upper jaw. The color of the cow is usually red, black, or 
spotted. Cows, like horses, have hoofs, but the hoofs of the 
cow are divided, in horses they are whole. The cow eats grass 
and hay. When cows lie down after feeding they chew their 
food. This is called chewing the cud. The cow gives us good 
sweet milk. From her milk we make butter and cheese. Her 
flesh we use for food. Leather for our boots and shoes is 
made from her hide. Her horns are used for making combs. 
Glue IS made from her hoofs. Mortar is made with her hair. 
Her bones will be made into the handles of knives. A cow 
always gets up on her hind feet first. 

This exercise may either be written by the class 
on their slates from memory, and then corrected in 
spelling, punctuation, capitalization, etc., or the 
teacher may write the story on the board and the 
class will copy it on their slates. Gradually, how- 
ever, they should be brought to compose, so that 
their work may not become exclusively a copy of 
the teacher's writing. Faulty sentences given by 
pupils to be copied on the board and written on 
slates should be corrected at once, or a second or 
third pupil should be called upon to improve upon 
the mistakes of the first. 



42 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

Let pupils in Grade II. write what they gave orally 
in Grade I., accounts of visits, synopses of stories 
they have read, or that have been told or read to 
them. Plants in the schoolroom are very good 
sources of language lessons. 

The following is a short, original description of a 
picture, written by a pupil of Grade II. : — 

Rose and Lulu have come to the spring to get some water. 
They have a pitcher and a pail to get the water in. Rose has 
picked a bouqet (sic). I think the water in the spring is very 
cool. Rose is standing and Lulu is sitting on a stone. They 
live in a house not far from the spring. I think they are get- 
ting the water for their mamma. o. w. 

The following description of a visit to the sea- 
shore is inserted exactly as it was written by a pupil 
of Grade II., as an exercise in composition : — 

I went to Lynn beach last summer. I had a very nice time. 
On the water I saw a good many ships. I picked up a great 
many little shells. I found one big shell and I gave it to my 
cousin who was with me, and she put all her little shells in it. 
I brought home all the shells that I found. We walked all 
around the sea-shore. I liked to see the tide come in. We 
took off our shoes and stockings and paddled in the sea. We 
stayed only one day. k. j. 

As the number-work in Grade I. will include some 
notice of bodily organs, like hands, feet, toes, fingers, 
eyes, ears, etc., continue this in Grade II., and lay 
the foundation of that knowledge of physiology and 
hygiene now required in many States by law. 

Letter-writing can be profitably begun in the sec- 



LETTER-WRITING. 43 

ond year, and forms an interesting diversion as well 
as a practical exercise. Children are inter- 
ested in whatever seems to be real ; and if -^"^.j^^j^ff 
they can send their letter to the person 
addressed, their satisfaction is increased. The 
following letter was delivered to me by a pupil of 
Grade II. It was written on ruled paper with a 
lead-pencil : — 

Clinton, June 22, 1885, 

Dear Mr. Bent, — We had a good time at the picnic. 

We went in the mornmg, and we had five swings. At noon 

my sister, my mother, tather, and my little brother came. We 

had a boat-ride for nothing. Why didn't you go.'* You would 

have had a nice time. 

Good by. v. w. 

The author of this letter had learned in her sec- 
ond school year how to begin a letter, compose and 
end it with a child's expression. All that may follow 
from this time on will be but practice on a larger 
model. Notice the use of the hyphen, and of other 
marks of punctuation. Those included in this let- 
ter, together with the surprise mark, complete the 
punctuation of Grade II. They have seen the sign 
of the possessi^'c case used in Grade I., and will 
copy it from the teacher's work on the board. 
Teachers must be satisfied with short letters on such 
subjects as school, what pupils do Saturdays, the 
games they play at recess, etc. The statements will 
be crude at first, and will be confined to a narrow 
range of topics. When those are exhausted give 
them easy subjects, and insist upoi their keeping to 



44 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

them. Correct ungrammatical forms of speech used 

by your pupils, without giving any reasons 

_;' , therefor. As a rule, let no error go uncor- 
Speech. ' ^ 

rected. Do not, therefore, give out more 
work than you can correct, nor correct it when all 
interest in the subject-matter is lost. If you cannot 
correct all the compositions or exercises, let each 
scholar correct another's ; but beware of trusting too 
much to this. It is not probable that your class can 
do your work for you successfully. Were this the 
case, you would be no longer indispensable. Do not, 
then, rely on pupils' corrections of errors. The com- 
mon and odious forms of incorrect expression would 
be generally passed over by them, because perfectly 
natural and too familiar. You must wage a con- 
stant warfare against such vulgarisms as the follow- 
ing : am^f, 'famf, got to for must^ ht don't (how would 
he do not sound ?), lots of, he done, hain''t got no, he 
you, I seen, was you, me and John, he gave Frank and 
I, etc., together with whatever errors of speech may 
be common to your particular locality. Do not 
think it necessary to give the reason why particular 
forms of speech are incorrect or vulgar. Teachers 
stand in the place of parents, who are never obliged 
to give a reason for a command or prohibition. 
Much must be told as truth in all grades, the rea- 
son of which would be inappreciable to pupils. 
Above all things, set a good example of correct speech 
in your own conversation with your class, and be- 
ware of giving them an opportunity of correcting in 



NUMBER. 45 

you what you have been endeavoring at other times 

to correct in them. 

In dictated lan2:uao:e lessons read the storv in 

your best voice, and read it but once. Let the 

children repeat each sentence after vou be- 

^ ... ^ , 1 1 M 1 • Dictation, 

fore writnig it. See that each child writes 

very slowly and carefully, entirely independently of 
his neighbor. Walk through the aisles, and notice 
how pupils hold their pencils. Correct on the spot 
all improper manipulation. Use long pencils. When 
they are are more than half used take new ones. 
Never let children twist their fingers around stubs. 
Never allow anything but the pupil's best and cor- 
rect effort to be transferred from slate to paper. 

Number lessons should be language-exercises as 
in Grade I., and so in all grades not using a book. 
It may be necessary to use objects at first ; 
but gradually accustom pupils to think out "°^ ^^' 
processes, or learn mathematical facts independent of 
association with objects. The power of association, 
as has been said of literature as a profession, " is a 
good staff, but a bad crutch." Begin in Grade II. 
to throw away the crutch of object-lessons in num- 
ber. Teach numbers from ten to twenty or thirty, 
so that all their possible combinations will present 
themselves without hesitation as facts as soon as 
called for, with a certainty that three sevens are 
twenty-one, and cannot by any possibility be twenty 
or twenty-two. If this is not thoroughlv learned 
in Grade II., it will be necessary for some other 



4-6 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

teacher to do your work for you. Be careful to do 
your own work thoroughly, and do not attempt the 
next teacher's. Sufficient unto the grade is the 
work thereof. You will never be in danger of teach- 
ing what belongs to you too well. 

Do not, on the other hand, make number-work too 
abstract. Children like to " keep store." Enliven 
J, number-work by concrete examples given by 

and Con- pupils. See that the sentences used are 
Crete. correct and the mathematical combinations 
possible. Do not in this or any other grade " mul- 
tiply cats by dogs." The combinations of abstract 
numbers are always abstract. In multiplication the 
multiplier must be abstract, and in division the 
divisor. The product will be of the same kind as 
the multiplicand, and the quotient like the dividend. 
Dollars divided by dollars will not give sheep, so 
that it is better in all grades to apply concrete ex- 
pressions, by way of explanation, to the result of 
abstract operation. That the class may be supplied 
with concrete examples when their own stock is ex- 
hausted, teachers should have upon their desks sev- 
eral primary arithmetics composed of practical every- 
day examples. When the teacher puts an example 
to the class, the answer should be a nuniber simply, 
without repetition of the problem, but the examples 
given by pupils should be fully and correctly ex- 
pressed by them. In one case you are calling for a 
mathematical fact, in the other for a language-exer- 
cise in mathematical form. The more you develop 



INK. 47 

this power of expression, the greater scope and play 
you give to the imagination and the thinking powers. 
In no other subject is it possible to lead children to 
do, to talk, and to think, as in number. 



Grade III. — Third Year. ^ 

In this grade the pupil begins to write with pen 

and ink. The careful formation of letters, which has 

been studied hitherto with slate and lead- 
Ink, 
pencils, will have sufficiently engrossed his 

attention without diverting it to a substance requir- 
ing special care like ink. It is claimed that writing 
with pencils, as pencils are generally held, promotes 
a cramped and awkward method of holding the pen. 
If that be so, it is the teacher's fault. Teach pupils 
to hold long pencils as they will later hold a pen- 
holder. A child can be taught to hold a slate-pencil 
when he enters school exactly as the teacher wishes 
hnn to hold it, and the lead-pencil follows the custom 
set the first year with the slate-pencil. 

As the pupil begins to write with ink it is conve- 
nient to supply him with a writing-book, and the 
book should be ruled to correspond with the paper 
on which he will write his language-exercises. Most 
systems of books do not sufficiently regard the great 
progress which has been made in the amount of 



48 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

writing done during the early years of school life, 
so that the pupil is in advance of the system, and 
the amount of writins; in a book intended to last six 
months or a year is ridiculously small in comparison 
with that accomplished every week in language-work 
under the supervision of progressive school authori- 
ties. But here, as in all departments, it is the 
teacher with a large, round, plain, unflourishing 
hand who will " set the copy " for the youthful pen- 
men of to-day. To insure uniformity in the ascend- 
ins: sfrades it will be advisable to have a chart hunar 
in all rooms as a direction to the eye, but it is 
" practice, and again practice, and always practice," 
which makes good writers, not systems, charts, or 
copy-books. Freedom in the play of the hand and 
arm is apt to yield to a cramped fashion of using 
books with their measured strokes and mathematical 
precision. Paint two or three slope lines across as 
many horizontal lines on the blackboard, and your 
writing book is a permanent fixture. Let children 
write capital letters upon it, to gain a free sweep of 
the hand, and see that the position of writing at 
their desks gives ample play to the fore-arm. 

The lanofuage-work in Grade III. under the new 
conditions of pen and ink assumes greater import- 
E, d 2- ^^c^? just ^s t^^^ power of expression has 
and Num- been expanding by means of the practice of 
ber. the two preceding years. You will see by 

reading the work of these years that pupils are ready 
to write a letter, tell a story, or keep a store. The work 



READING AND NUMBER. 49 

of each year is a development of that already passed. 
As the pupil's powers are larger, so the field of oper- 
tion is more extended. The employment of reading 
and number-work as a branch of language-exercise 
has been sufficiently dwelt upon. Reading is still 
the oral expression of what has been silently mas- 
tered. In Grades II. and III., classes will read all 
the books put into their hands, — at least six each 
year. Number-work is concerned with tables, with 
addition into hundreds' place, and corresponding 
subtraction. Add to this, for recreation in concrete 
calculation and mental arithmetic, the simplest tables 
of money, weights, and measures. Alternate the 
abstract and concrete forms of operations in this way, 
and continue the use of tables for mental exercise 
after taking up the written work of Grades IV. and V. 
In order to give due importance to language-exer- 
cise, and to include all its forms, it may be well to 
make a programme of work extending 
through the week, each day to have its own ^^S^^S^- 
peculiar exercise. Twenty-five minutes will be time 
enough to give to language lessons in this grade. 
Fifteen or twenty minutes may be occupied by pupils 
in reading their exercises and listening to instruc- 
tion and criticism from the teacher. For 
Monday's lesson the pupils are asked to ^°''^^^- 
write a story. Each pupil chooses his own subject. 
The following is a specimen : — 

Once as I was walking through a field, I met a poor little 
girl. 1 asked her what her name was and she said her name 



50 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

was Katie Brown. Her clothes were ragged and torn, and he^ 
lips were blue with cold. I asked her if she had a mother. 
She said her mother and father were dead and she was left 
alone to seek her fortune. Would you like to come with me ? 
Oh yes said the little girl will you take me to your house ? 
Yes I shall be glad to take you with me. Where is your 
house said the little girl. My house is up on that hill. I 
brought the little girl up to my house and let her warm herself 
I gave her something to eat. I put a dress of mine on to her 
and told her she could keep it. She lived with me and went 
to school every day. After that she was a good scholar. And 
we played every day together. 

When such exercises as these reach the teacher's 
desk, she will see that no use has been made of 
quotation marks, and that the punctuation must be 
changed to correspond. But every day her pupils 
have been reading stories full of conversations 
marked and punctuated properly. Their attention 
has not been called to such points, and thousands of 
pupils finish the second and third readers every 
year, and have been " drilled " on the pieces until 
they know them by heart, who were never told that 
such a thing as a quotation mark existed. When, 
however, the use of such forms of punctuation is 
understood, pupils will write conversations as readily 
as plain narrative. For instance, the teacher may 
ask John to tell something about the schoolroom. 
John says. The schoolroom has four windows. The 
teacher asks the class to write the statement, the 
room has four windows, and then the double state- 
ment, John says, "The room has four windows," 



LANGUAGE. 5 I 

telling them to look in their readers for such forms 
and punctuation.. In the pupil's exercise just given, 
the quotation is divided, — " Oh, yes," being sepa- 
rated from the rest h^ said the little girl. To write 
it correctly requires a knowledge of capitalization 
and punctuation beyond that required for John's 
statement concerning the windows. Consequently, 
the work of correction wdll be taken up in this ex- 
ercise by bringing about such a change as is indi- 
cated by this form : " Would you like to come with 
me?" "Oh, yes!" said the little girl, "Will you 
take me to your house t " " Yes, I shall be glad to 
take you with me." " Where is your house 1 " said 
the little girl. " My house is up on that hill." To 
accomplish this, more than one Monday will be nec- 
essary, but the pupils of Grade III. are capable of it. 

The teacher for Tuesday's exercise ex- 
hibits a picture, or draws one upon the 
board. Each pupil writes detached sentences de- 
scribing it, as follow : — 

Two boys are in a boat. The boat is on a pond. There is 
a dog in th'^ boat. One of the boys has lost his hat in the water. 
The other boy has taken off his coat. The dog jumps into 
the water and gets the hat. The water is not very deep; one 
boy dips his hand into the water. I think the water feels cool. 
I hope he will not fall in. 

The mechanical part of this original composition 
has been learned in Grade II. Still, if found neces- 
sary to dwell upon periods and capitalization, the 
exercise can be varied with dictation work, in which 



52 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

the attention is entirely given to the mechanical por- 
tion and to spelling. For the latter purpose let John 
rise, read the first and succeeding sentences, spelling 
each word, mentioning capitals and punctuation. 
Change slates and correct. For a written exercise, 
let the class copy that description of the picture 
which exhibits the best sentences properly executed. 
Later in the year the class will connect the detached 
sentences given above, or others like them, making 
a narrative, which will include all the objects shown 
in the pictures. A teacher who can draw will easily 
make a picture off-hand, which the class will be 
eager to describe in answer to questions which she 
may ask. Encourage the children to bring to school 
pictures or advertisement cards, and make each ex- 
hibition a language-exercise. 

A short story is read aloud, on Wednesday, by the 

teacher once. Then the pupils write as much of it on 

their slates as they remember. They write 

busilv ten or fifteen minutes. Then all 
day. 

Stop writing, and listen while several of the 
stories are read aloud. In reading aloud nothing is 
suggested as to proper mechanical execution. When 
the class comes up from Grade II., try such an 
exercise, and on looking at a few slates you will 
quickly see what they know about punctuation and 
capitalization, and what they must still be taught. 
The following exercise from a story read by the 
teacher shows the writer's knowledge and igno- 
rance : — 



LANGUAGE, 53 

A fox after running till he was out of breath, begged a man 
to show him a place to hide. He showed him his hut and let 
him hide under his bed. He told the fox he would not tell. 
Soon after the hunters came along and asked him if he had 
seen the fox. He shook his head and pointed. The fox had 
just time enough to escape out of a window that was on the 
other side of the hut. A few days after the man met the fox 
and said, why did you leave my hut for without thanking 
me for saving your life. You did not tell the truth said 
the fox. I did not tell where you were. No said the fox 
but you pointed that is all that deaf and dumb people do 
when they tell lies. 

Thursday is correction day, when the important 

features of the week's work are commented upon. 

Keep the poorest papers and copy them 

,11 T , M Thursday, 

upon the board. Let the pupils correct 

them aloud. That corrections may be free, do not 
write the names of the authors of the exercises. 
Fullness of spontaneous correction tests the knowl- 
edge of the class. Note failure to correct certain 
mistakes, and bring in the same points the next 
week. Corrected sentences can be written on the 
pupils' slates. Take this day for common and vul- 
gar errors, correcting what has been improperly 
spoken in the class-room, or what passes outside for 
correct speech. Street signs furnish an amusing 
commentary on popular knowledge or ignorance, es- 
pecially the use of the apostrophe as a sign of the 
plural, where no thought of possession is intended. 
Pupils make very good critics when their attention 
is turned in the proper direction ; but many a 
teacher who " drills " her class on the names of all the 



54 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

coral reefs of the South Pacific never thinks of the 
familiar misnomers of the village street, or the 
journalistic freaks of the special reporter. This is 
also an appropriate time to test the knowledge of the 
class in writing sentences from oral dictation. Dic- 
tate sentences, making no mention of capitalization 
or punctuation, calling upon the class to supply 
them. Teach here the signs of the possessive case, 
both in the singular and in the plural of regularly- 
formed words, and the punctuation marks not already 
familiar. Avoid, however, definitions of the posses- 
sive in a technical form. See that such sentences 
are written properly: "John gave William and I 
Franks shoes, the childrens books," etc. Continue 
the correction of school vulgarisms, and interest 
your class in the use of correct forms of speech by 
making error ridiculous. 

Friday is letter day. When the letters are written 
let them be directed. It may not be practicable to sup- 
ply envelopes for each week's exercises ; 
but the address can be written on the back 
of the folded letter. Change the style of address 
from time to time. Practice in this grade the 
different forms of address inside the sheet, ac- 
cording to the degree of acquaintance and corres- 
ponding formality. A teacher once said : " Write 
a letter to your mother to-day ; make believe 
she is away from home, and tell her what has hap- 
pened in her absence." The following was one 
response : — 



LANGUAGE. 55 

Clinton, Mass., May 22, 1885. 
Dear Mother, — I am going to tell you what happened at 
home. Last night all the clothes fell down on the ground and 
they got dirty. When I went to bed I heard a great noise in 
the kitchen. When I got up it was the cat. The cat broke the 
sugar-bowl and a cup, and she broke the lamp too. I planted 
some seeds when you went away and they are very nice, they 
are coming up. Mother I would like you to come home 
Saturday afternoon. I want you to visit my school Wednesday 
afternoon. It is public day. I am going to speak a piece. 

Good bye, 

Your daughter, L. C. 

To vary the week's programme a lesson like any 
of the following is sometimes given. The teacher 
writes upon the blackboard a short story or part of 
a long one. The sentences are written incorrectly, 
capitals are misplaced, punctuation marks omitted, 
words misspelled, etc : " A man caught a little 
fish let me Go sed the fish til i am larger, i shall 
soon be a large fish Then you can catch Me agen 
but the man sed, You wil then no to much too 
bite." Sometimes a story is written on the board 
in the following manner, and the pupils copy it on 
their slates, supplying the words omitted : " Tom 
and — lived — the water They — not swim so 

— mother — them — must — go alone — the — . 
Tom — a good — and — as — was — ; but — went 

— the — . He — in — and was — . His mother 
was — that — did — mind," etc. 

Occasionally divide the school into six or eight 
divisions ; give each division a different word, as 



$6 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

palace, princess, queen, etc. Then let the children 
when called upon in each division rise and give a 
sentence containins: the word assigned to their di- 
vision. 

In addition to purely literary work in Grade III., 
continue object-teaching by means of pictures. 
Allow sentences spoken to be written on slates or 
preserved on paper. Thus on the Lion the teacher 
will call out these facts, supposing that the children 
have seen a lion in a menagerie, or that the teacher 
has a picture of one. 

The lion belongs to the cat family. He comes from Africa;- 
some are found in Asia. They live in pairs. They are from 
six to eight feet long. They weigh from four to five hundred 
pounds. Their color is a tawny yellow. The male lion has a 
mane of long hair ; the female has no mane. They have thirty 
teeth, sharp and pointed, like those of a cat, so that they can 
tear flesh with them. They have a rough tongue for the same 
purpose. The lion has great strength and can carry a calf or 
sheep in his mouth. The lion springs upon his prey like a 
cat. He can spring twenty feet at one bound. The lion has a 
terrible roar. At night he causes other animals to tremble by 
his roar. He can see well at night like a cat. He swings his 
long tail when he is angry like a cat. His tail is strong enough 
to strike a man down with one blow. 

This will tell the class something about silk : — 

Silk is the web of the silk-worm. The worm feeds on mul- 
berry leaves. After eating eight weeks, the worm begins to 
spin. The thread is stronger than a spider's web. The worm 
spins the thread around itself in the form of a case. This is 
called the cocoon. The cocoon is about an inch long. The 
worm is an insect like the caterpillar. It changes two or three 
times, and at last makes a hole in the cocoon and flies out, lavs 



LANGUAGE. 5/ 

eggs, and dies. To prevent the worm from making a hole in 
it the cocoon is placed in a heated oven; the insect is then 
killed. The threads of the cocoons are loosened in hot water, 
and then womid upon a reel. They are then sorted and are 
ready for spinning. The web of a single cocoon is from three to 
five hundred yards long. Silk is raised in Asia, Europe, and in 
the United States, and is manufactured in France and in this 
country. It is used to make ribbons, handkerchiefs, gloves, 
stockings, shawls, dresses, sewing-silk, and many other articles. 

Begin geographical instruction in this grade. 
Apply the points of the compass to the schoolroom, 
and names to local geographical objects, il- Geogra- 
lustrating without much definition the earth's phy. 
shape, sunrise, sunset, horizon, zenith, etc. Illus- 
trate ideas of boundary and distance by the adja- 
cent towns, even by objects within sight, the maps 
or jDictures upon the walls, etc. Let pupils associate 
names of county, state, country, with their own town 
or city, and begin here descriptions of local indus- 
tries. Make this a language-exercise in all cases, and 
see that facts are stated in the form of full and gram- 
matical sentences. As " busy work " let pupils draw 
and cut out triangles, squares, circles, and polygons. 
Show their differences, but avoid technical defini- 
tions. Continue oral instruction in physiology, con- 
necting it with hygiene (where no text-book is sup- 
plied), and take whatever opportunity offers to 
inculcate good school morals, especially kindness 
and courtesy to schoolmates, as well as the more 
obvious requirements of cleanliness, veracity, and 
purity of word a^d act. 



58 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

It is important that the memory be trained in 
connection with language-exercise. For this pur- 
Declama- pose the teacher of Grade III. will give 
tion. out verses or other short selections to be 

committed to memory and spoken at proper inter- 
vals. Begin with a single verse of poetry, because 
that form of composition is more attractive to the 
young then prose. Avoid long selections ; rather 
one verse a day than a long poem once a week. 
Select the best authors. In Germany the children 
learn at school the ballads and lyrics of such a poet as 
Schiller, and never forget them. See that the senti- 
ment is as pure as the verse, and that lessons of 
patriotism, charity, courtesy, generosity, kindness, 
truthfulness, humanity, are learned from those who 
tell us : — 

" Never to blend our pleasure or our pride 
With sorrow of the meanest thing that feels." 



Grades IV. and V. — Fourth and 
Fifth Years. 

As there is no particular distinction in the work 
of these grades, they are united for our present pur- 
pose. The general course of instruction changes 
here ; books are substituted for oral instruction, and 
primary work ceases. Still, in language-exercise 



ORAL METHODS. 59 

the teacher is not released from playing the leading 
role. Her work in. this department must continue to 
be largely oral, and, that it may be successful, she 
must extend the domain of her own activity. It is 
true that the dictionary takes the place of the teach- 
er's definition. At the beginning of the year she 
should prepare her class for the intelligent use of 
the dictionary, calling attention to the divisions of 
words, marks of accent, signs or synonyms of pro- 
nunciation, and whatever may be technical in the 
particular book used. Each pupil should be pro- 
vided with one, or the unabridged copy on the 
teacher's desk should be open to unrestricted con- 
sultation by the class. 

Your pupils have been prepared in the lower 
grades for the more serious tasks now before them. 
See that they are not lacking in practical acquaint- 
ance with the comma, period, question and surprise 
marks, hyphen, apostrophe in its various uses, quo- 
tation marks, and the common abbreviations. They 
can write a letter, can describe with a certain degree 
of fullness objects or pictures, can take down with 
reasonable accuracy what is read to them of simple 
style and diction. They know something of geog- 
raphy, physiology, color, form, measure, relative 
size and distance. They have obtained information 
concerning the more common animals, have de- 
scribed their uses and habits, and have seen how 
food, clothing, pleasure, and labor are procured 
from them. As their study of the geographical text- 



6o HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

book continues, they read of vegetables, minerals, 
animals, and manufactures, which are mentioned 
but not described, belonging to countries briefly 
noticed, and exported from cities whose names are 
all the pupils know of them. This vast hiatus be- 
tween what is told and what is untold is our teacher's 
opportunity. To merely mention it indicates a pro- 
gramme. This consists in filling out the bare out- 
line of the text, by telling what the things are whose 
existence only is mentioned. Thus the lumber 
product of Maine, the granite quarries of New 
Hampshire and Massachusetts, the maple-sugar and 
marble product af Vermont, the fisheries of Massa- 
chusetts, the manufactures of cotton, ship-building, 
the cure and manufacture of leather, are only alluded 
to in books, and the desire to know is stimulated 
but not satisfied by the statement that Lowell is 
called the Manchester of America, or that Nantucket 
was a famous whaling port. 

The teacher has in a primary geography a ready 
guide to language exercise. She is not limited to it, 
however. She should at all events have a logical 
plan of her own, and adhere to it. Teachers of in- 
termediate grades, who have text-books thrust into 
their hands, are in danger of confining their work to 
them, or of throwing it on to the class. So far as 
language-work, however, is concerned, she is almost 
entirely put upon her own resources. The success 
or failure of her attempts at oral language-exercise 
will depend upon herself. " There is, perhaps, no 



ORAL METHODS. 6 1 

practice better adapted to insure effective oral teach- 
ing," says one author, "than diligent preparation of 
the lessons which the teacher intends to give her 
pupils ; " and again : " Experience daily proves that 
an unprepared lesson, or what may be termed ex- 
tempore teaching, is sure to be vague, diffuse, and 
shallow ; and on the other hand that a well-prepared 
lesson is generally clear, to the point, and given 
with spirit and effect." In arranging a plan of in- 
struction the method is not new. It should still be 
oral and objective ; it is only the scope which is ex- 
tended, until the library is drawn upon in the course 
of the teacher's and pupil's combined interest in in- 
vestigation. 

. From his entrance to school, the attention of the 
child has been directed to objects, at first within 
the schoolroom, and then beyond its walls 

as his power of observation increases. ,5^, , 
^ . . . Methods. 

Apply the principles of attention to language- 
exercise of the fourth grade. The universe is one 
vast object-lesson, and yet teachers ask plaintively, 
" What shall we teach in language ? Where shall 
we look for subject-matter ? " Let the teacher first 
ask herself in what direction her own tastes lead 
her. What she enjoys she will teach well ; what 
she does not like she will teach, if she mast, per- 
functorily, and therefore unsuccessfully. The secret 
of reasonable supervision lies in giving full play to 
the natural bent and predominating tastes of teach- 
ers, where they have any ; where they have none, 



62 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

and are incapable of inspiration, the case with them 
-is indeed hopeless. As means of development, 
object-teaching has borne its share in the work of 
the previous grades. We now consider it as a source 
of information, the communication of which serves 
to produce correct speech in both its oral and written 
forms. 

When your class come into the fourth grade, dis- 
cover by experiment what they can do. Illustrate 
by example their knowledge of punctuation, of the 
principles of letter-writing, of the correct use of 
every-day forms of speech, of abbreviations and 
capitals. Do not be surprised if they make occa- 
sional and even frequent blunders ; neither are their 
elders exempt from error. After the first month of 
such trial, begin your own course of language-work. 
Provide each of your pupils with a blank book. 
Tell them that only the best exercises of the class 
on any subject will be written therein. Begin with 
what is common and near at hand. In addition to 
the animals, plants, vegetables, minerals, which you 
will take up in the course of your instruction in 
geography, add to your repertory such familiar ob- 
jects as the following : J>e/i, candle^ match ^ honey, 
sealing-wax^ pin^ ink, paper, milk, coral, ivory, whale- 
boiie, ca^nphor, cork, acorn, needle, bell. Show a lead- 
pencil and ask of what it is composed. Tell where 
the lead is found, what other name may be given to 
it, how it appears when dug from the earth, where 
the wood of the pencil comes from, of what shape 



ORAL METHODS. 63 

are the trees, what early mention is made of them, 
how the wood is prepared for use, what different 
operations are required to prepare the wood for the 
lead ; split a pencil and show the strips and the 
groove. Have the statements made in clear, com- 
pact sentences written on slates, to be transferred to 
the blank book. A drop of water will lead to re- 
marks, drawn from pupils if possible, upon its 
springs and sources, the various kinds and conditions 
in which it is found, its qualities and uses, the names 
of the larger bodies, and of such as may be within 
the personal knowledge of the class. Draw out 
answers from pupils before giving them information. 
When those answers are correct let them be written 
down. When many such statements are made on 
any one subject, combine those statements into a 
description, and let that be a weekly exercise, the 
result to be written in the book. Stimulate the 
pupil's interest by making him seem to inform you 
of what you perhaps do not know. Never repress 
any attempt to talk, however rude or uncouth it may 
be. Correct, but do not ridicule. 

Choose the subjects for these daily talks and ex- 
ercises according to your own taste and familiarity 
with them. Proceed in all cases from the simple to 
the more complicated, and begin at home before go- 
ing abroad. If you take animals, divide them into 
branches, classes, orders, and families ; mark the 
differences, as you proceed, of mammals, birds, rep- 
tiles, and fishes ; show the features certain families 



64 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

have in common ; illustrate traits of character by 
.anecdotes, and before offering information of your 
own, draw it from the pupil by questions. Show pic- 
tures when possible, and make the language-exercise 
an object-lesson first, a writing-exercise later. Flow- 
ers, vegetables, minerals, will take their turn in your 
programme, and be submitted to similar treatment. 
Suit the description of qualities to the age and de- 
velopment of your pupils ; use the words opaque, 
porous^ soluble, 7iutritious, b7'ittle, transparent, elastic, 
odorous. Whenever you can, explain those words so 
that your pupils can apply them correctly the next 
time they appropriately occur. You will find the fol- 
lowing words applicable to a piece of refined sugar : 
white, sweet, sparkling, crystalline, solid, fusible, 
soluble, shapeless, hard, refined, nutritious, crumb- 
ling, opaque, vegetable (substance), brittle. There 
is among them hardly a word that may not be made 
plain to your pupils by a few words of explanation, 
nor one that they will not be eager and able to 
use in describing some other vegetable or mineral 
substance. 

Take an interest in what you are teaching, and 
your class will feel the contagion. You can inspire 
them to original investigation, and your pupils of 
Grade V. will acquire a fund of information which 
grammar scholars of higher grades once failed to 
possess. The year represented by Grade IV, will 
best be occupied with simple exercises, in which the 
pupil's slender fund of knowledge is supplemented 



ORAL METHODS. 65 

by the teacher's larger hoard. As he reaches the 
fifth grade, inspire him to find out for himself what 
lies within reach of every schoolboy. Let him bring 
to school the fruit of his investigation, and the best 
essay will merit preservation in the blank book ; or, 
when a subject has been studied, let the teacher ask 
questions, and the simple answers of the class may be 
written down as given, or made over into a narrative 
form. Here are certain questions and answers 
about the Camel, which may serve as a guide for 
class work. It is too much to expect a teacher to 
make a dialogue concerning the objects of an entire 
year's study ; but suppose that your class have read 
about the camel, and that each one has acquired 
some fact which he gives in answer to the teacher's 
question ; or the teacher may bring an encyclopaedia 
into school, and, having read to the class about the 
camel, call for facts in the pupil's own language: — 

1. Of what is the camel a native ? 

Ans. Of the desert countries of southwestern Asia, whence 
it spread over the arid regions of the eastern hemisphere. 
(What do 3'ou mean by " arid " ? ) 

2. What is it sometimes called ? 
^ns. " The Ship of the Desert." 

3. Why is it so called ? 

Ans. Because it carries heavy loads over the desert, where 
nothing could take its place. (Some precocious child answers : 
*' Where it is the only means of locomotion.") 

4. How is it prepared for its life in the desert ? 

j^z'rs^ Answer. Its teeth are wonderfully suited for tearing 
apart and masticating the coarse, dry shrubs on which it feeds. 
{Question: What do mean by masticating?) 



66 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

Second Answer. Its nostrils can be opened or shnt at will, 
and thus the organ of smell, which is very acute, is defended 
against the hot sand which sweeps over the desert. 

Third Answer. The toes, except the two forming the foot, 
are connected by a broad, elastic pad, which buoys the camel 
up as it moves over the yielding surface of the desert. 

Foici'th Answer. The hump or humps on the camicl's back are 
masses of fat, forming a reserve of nourishment to be used 
when other supplies fail. (In reply to this statement, which is 
denied by some authorities, the teacher will tell her class that 
in a recent war in Afghanistan sixty thousand camels died of 
starvation and thirst.) 

Fifth Answer. The stomach contains cells in which water can 
be stored. 

5. Describe the camel. 

Ans. John. The camel is about eight feet high. 

Mary. It is of a dark brown or yellowish color. 

James. It has teeth like a dog. 

Frank. The camel chews the cud like the cow. 

Sarah. It has cushions on its knees, so that it can kneel 
down to receive its load. 

Question. How is the camel taught to kneel ? 

Ans. The young camel's legs are bent under it every day 
by its owner, until it kneels when commanded. They are 
also taught to fast for five or six days at a time, to prepai-e 
them for their life on the desert. 

6. How heavy a weight can the camel carry ? 
Charles. From five hundred to one thousand pounds. 
Edward. They are expected to carry their load twenty-five 

miles a day for three days, without water. 

Jennie. Some camels can travel fifty miles a day for five 
days without drinking. 

Peter. When too heavily laden the camel refuses to rise 
from its knees, but when on the march it is exceedingly patient, 
only yielding beneath its load to die. 

7. How does the camel meet a storm? 



ORAL METHODS. : 6/ 

Ans. When overtaken by the simoon, or sand-storm, it falls 
upon its knees, and, stretching its neck along the sand, closes 
its nostrils and remains thus motionless until the air is clear. 

8. How is the driver protected at this time? 

Ajts. The driver crouches behind the camel, wrapped in his 
mantle. 

9. How does the dromedary differ from the camel ? 

Ans. It is found in Arabia, and has but one hump. It is 
much more fleet than the camel, and has finer hair and a more 
elegant form. It can carry its driver, when necessary, one 
hundred miles a day. The dromedary is to the camel as a 
race-horse to a cart-horse. 

ID. How do we know that the camel was one of the earliest 
animals subdued by man for his use ? 

Ans. Because it is mentioned in the oldest records of the 
human race, six thousand camels forming part of the wealth 
of Job. The trace of no wild camel has been found, from 
which the tame species could have been derived, as is the case 
with all other domestic animals. 

11. Is the camel an amiable creature.'' 

Ans. No, it is verv vicious and bad-tempered. They often 
fight with each other. They are so obstinate that they often 
sink on their knees, and no amount of beating will get them 
up until they choose to rise. 

12. What do they live upon ? 

Ans. Date leaves, and a kind of cake made of the dates ; 
beans, and prickly shrubs. 

13. What can you say of its milk.'' 

Ans. It is a favorite drink, and is often made into butter. 
Its flesh is cut up and salted for food. 

14. What is manufactured from the camel.-' 

Ans. The hair is made into small brushes used by painters. 
The hide is made into very strong leather. The Arabs shear 
their camels every summer, and weave the hair into tent-cover- 
ings and clothing. 

Susan. My mother has a camel's-hair shawl. 



68 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

15. How can you show that the camel is a native of the 
desert ? 

Ans. Because all camels dislike to cross a stream of water 
or marshy ground, so that their owners deceive them by spread- 
ing tent-cloths upon damp ground which they wish them to pass 
over. 

16. What is the motion of a camel? 

Ajts. The camel moves first the legs on the right side, then 
the two on the left side, giving its body a swaying motion, 
which causes in people unaccustomed to the motion a feeling 
like seasickness. 

Here follow some questions upon the Elephant : — 

1. What do we notice particularly in the elephant? 

Ans. The size of the body, the teeth, and the proboscis or 
trunk. 

2. What is the trunk ? 

Ans. It is a huge extension of the nose and upper lip, from 
six to eight feet long, formed of a mass of muscles. These 
muscles number nearly forty thousand. They are so arranged 
as to produce the greatest possible diversity of motion. 

3. What does the end of the trunk contain? 

Afis. The end of the trunk contains the two openings of the 
nostrils by which the elephant breathes when swimming. It 
fills its trunk with water through these nostrils, and then 
throws the water into its mouth or over its body. 

4. How does the trunk end ? 

Ans. In Sipmething like a finger, of great delicacy of touch. 

5. To what may you compare it ? 

Afis. It forms an organ in many respects like the human 
hand. The elephant smells with it also. 

6. How does the elephant use this finger ? 

Ans. With it the elephant collects food, discovers snares, 
and strikes down its enemy. It can also pick up a pin or open 
a door with its proboscis. 

7. From what is the word " trunk " derived ? 



ORAL METHODS. 69 

Ans. From a French word meaning trumpet, because the 
elephant utters through this organ a shrill, trumpet-like sound 
when enraged. 

8. How much does the elephant depend upon its trunk ? 
Ans. Without it the elephant could not feed itself. It is 

therefore very cautious in its use. 

9. How many teeth has the elephant ? 

Alls. Two incisors, or tusks, and six molars. As the latter 
are gradually worn away others appear, and the elephant may 
be said to be always teething. 

10. Of what are the tusks composed .'' 

Alls. Of ivory. They grow during the animal's life, and 
sometimes weigh two hundred pounds. They are hollow for 
a part of their length. 

11. Of what use are they? 

Ans. The elephant uses them in fighting, and has thrown a 
tiger thirty feet into the air with them. They are useful in 
tearing down trees, upon the leaves of which the elephant feeds. 
In Ceylon, where the elephant lives on grass, it has no tusks. 

12. Has the elephant a large brain ? 

Ans. It is rather small ; but the bones of the skull are very 
large, in order to support the powerful muscles of the head and 
trunk. 

13. How much does the elephant weigh at full size ? 
Ans. Fully three tons, and stands eleven feet in height. 

14. How long does the elephant live? 

Ans. It grows for thirty years, and lives more than one hun- 
dred. Some have lived one hundred and thirty years in cap- 
tivity. 

15. How does the African differ from the Asiatic elephant ? 
Ans. The ears of the former are very large, completely 

covering the shoulders when thrown back. They have been 
known to be three and one half feet in length by two and 
one half feet wide. The African stands higher, and his tusks 
are heavier. 

16. How much ivory is imported ? 



70 HINTS ON LANGUAGE. 

Ans. England imports 1,200^000 lbs. yearly, to obtain which 
30,000 animals are killed. Perhaps 100,000 a year supply the 
entire world. 

17. For what has the elephant been used ? 

Aus. By the ancient nations, like the Romans, in war. By the 
natives of Asia, to drive off invaders. Since fire-arms came 
into use, elephants are employed to drag heavy cannon and 
carry baggage. They are also ysed in India to hunt tigers, the 
hunters sitting on the elephant's back in an' open box, the 
driver being on the animal's back. 

18. How are elephants caught ? 

Ans. They are driven into a large enclosure or corral. The 
entrance is then walled up, and the elephants rush wildly about, 
seeking means of escape. After a while they become tired, 
and tame elephants are let in, bearing a keeper. As the wild 
elephants mingle freely with the tame ones, they are thrown off 
their guard, and a rope, one end of which is attached to the neck 
of a tame elephant, is passed over each leg of the wild animal. 
It is then securely tied to the trunk of a tree. After a training 
of two months, in which the tame elephant assists, the captive 
may be ridden by the owner, and worked in four months. 

19. Why are white elephants so valued ? 

Ans. Because they are so rare. In Siam the chief white 
elephant ranks next the queen, and before the heir apparent to 
the crown. (Tell your class that in the sixteenth century a 
war was waged in lower India, in which five kings were slain 
for the possession of a particular white elephant. Read ac- 
counts of their habits of bathing in herds, and the exploits of 
hunters like Gumming.) 

The pupils of Grades IV. and V. will continue the 

practice of letter-writing. They are now prepared 

to pay some attention to style. Hence 

Letter- teach the division of the body of the letter 
Writing. •' 

into paragraphs. Show that a change \\\ 

the thought or subject matter of the letters should 



LETTER-WRITING. 7 1 

be indicated by taking a new line ; mark in some 
illustration upon the board the place of the first 
word in the new paragraph. Teach the abbrevia- 
tions belonging to certain titles or offices. Let the 
children write imaginary letters, not like Toots to 
himself, but to personages enjoying titles of office, 
dignity, rank, etc. Make the style of address con- 
form to the age, character, or office of the person 
addressed. Let the class answer advertisements 
found in newspapers for clerks, teachers, mechanics, 
artisans, agents, and state in modest terms the qual- 
ifications possessed by the applicant. Remove from 
all language-exercises anything cramped and formal, 
all the etiquette attending the " composition " of 
higher grades. Let the exercises be fresh while 
instructive, interesting while beneficial ; invest it 
with the charm which you endeavor to throw around 
your work in all branches of stud}-, and, while your 
pupils will know nothing of technical grammar, they 
will write a letter or read an essay which will show 
them to be, like the Emperor Sigismund, " above 
grammar." 

On the following pages will be found a list of 
books of authority on themes suitable for language- 
exercises, together with the catalogue of a Teachers' 
Consulting Library. 



BOOKS OF AUTHORITY ON TOPICS SUIT- 
ABLE FOR LANGUAGE-EXERCISE. 



All Encyclopaedias. 




Manual of Object Teaching : 


Calki?is. 


Primary Object Lessons : 


}) 


Lessons on Objects : 


Sheldon. 


Elementary Instruction : 


}} 


Development Lessons : 


DeGraff. 


Object Lessons : 


Walker; Welch, 


Cambridge Information Cards. 


Lee 6^ Shepard. 


Fairy Land of Science : 


Buckley. 


Matter and Force : 


Tyndall. 


Geological Story : 


Dana. 


Science Primers. 


Appletons. 


Oral Lessons in Science : 


Ba7'nard. 


Familiar Science ; 


Brewer. 


Child's Book of Nature : 


Hooker. 


Child's Book of Natural History : 


Carll. 


Natural History : 


Harpers. 


Animal Physiology : 


Angell ; Clela?td. 


Talks with my Boys : 


Mowry. 


72 





BOOKS OF AUTHORITY. 



73 



Natural History Series and Manual : Prang. 
Natural History Reader : Johonnot, 

Glimpses of the Animated World : " 

How Plants Behave : Gray. 

How Plants Grow : » 

Manuals for Teachers : Eldredge 6- Bro. 

Methods of Teaching: Swett. 

Object Lessons on Human Body : Lovell 6- Co, 
Picture and Word Cards : Davis. 

Word Method in Number : Sdnford. 

Seven Little Sisters : Andrews. 

Geographical Readers : Philip. 

Voices for the Speechless (for memorizing). 
Memory Gems : Lambert. 

Little Gems : Potter (5n Ainsworth. 

Selections for Little Folks : Eldredge 6^ Co. 

Ballads and Lyrics ; Lod^-e, 



TEACHERS' CONSULTING LIBRARY. 



Education as a Science : 


Bain. 


Art of School Management : 


Baldwin. 


Calderwood on Teaching. 




Earlv and Infant Education : 


Cuj'rie. 


School Room Guide : 


De Graff. 


Lectures on Teaching : 


Fitch. 


Morals and Manners : 


Gow. 


In the School Room : 


Hart. 


Errors in the Use of English : 


Hodgson. - 


School Management : 


Kellogg. 


Comenius ; His Life, etc. : 


Laurie. 


Talks with Teachers : 


Mayo. 


Teacher and Parent : 


Northend. 


Science of Education : 


Ogden. 


Teacher's Manual : 


Orcutt. 


Quinc}' Methods Illustrated : 


Fatridge. 


Science and Art of Education : 


J. Fayne. 


Lectures on Education : 


)> 


School Supervision : 


W. H. Fayne. 


74 





TEACHERS CONSULTING LIBRARY. 



75 



After Kindergarden, What ? 
Talks with Teachers : 
Educational Reformers: 
Outlines of Psychology : 
Philosphy of Education : 
Methods of Instruction : 
Lectures on Pedagogy : 
Methods of History: 
Education : 



Peabody and Mann. 
Parker. 
Qtiick. 
Sully. 
Tate. 

Wickers ham. 
Haihjian. 
Hall. 
Spencer. 



Principles and Practice of Teaching :y^//^;/;/<7/. 

Vocal and Physical Training : Miuiroe. 

Sound Bodies for Boys and Girls : Blaikie. 

Theory and Practice of Teaching 

Lessons on Manners : 

School Management : 

Education by Doing : 

School Hygiene, Lectures on. 

Education and Manual Industry : 



TJiring. 

Wiggin. 

Landon. 

Johnson. 

MacArthur. 



MOST INTERESTING, COMPLETE, AND SATISFACTORY. 



A HANDBOOK OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

Based on " The Lectures " of the late M. J. Guest, and brought 
down to tlie year 1880; with a Suppleuientai-y Chapter upon 
English Literature of the lUth Century. By F. H. Underwood. 
With Maps, Tables, etc. 



Price $1.20 net. 



Gitest's "Lectures on English History" were prepared for 
the " College for Men and Women " in London, aud ajiparently 
were printed substantially as they were delivered. As regards 
style, they have the merits and faults of compositions intended 
for oral delivery; but in substance they are of the highest order 
of excellence. For its compass, Guest's Historv is the most in- 
teresting, impartial, complete, and satisfactory ever published. 
It is written from amjile knowledge; and the treatment is ori- 
ginal, — presenting the topics and events in a fresh and entertain- 
ing way. It gives as much detail as can be availabh^ in schools, 
and it will be a valuable addition to any private lil)rary. The 
author was a friend and an admirer of the lamented Green, but 
he had clear and original views of his own. 

The matter was considered extremely valuable for the schools 
of the United States; but it was evident that it would be diffi- 
cult, if not impossible, to use the book as a text-book in the 
form in which it appeared. The author wrote as an Englishman 
for English readers, and the whole point of view would need to 
be changed. It was found necessary to rewrite the history; and 
in this way the work has been soujewhat condtinsed, without 
omitting important facts or apposite comments. 

Mr. Guest did not continue his narrati\'e beyond the reign of 
George III. ; in fact, there is little mention of events after the 
battle of Waterloo: and, to make the work more complete, chap- 
ters have been added, bringing the history down to 1880, and 
concluding with a concise survey of English literature during the 
present century. In some jilaces new matter has been added; 
but all additions, including the editor's notes, are carefully dis- 
tinguished. 



Special Rates for Introduction. 



LEE AND SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. 

22 



PHYSIOLOGY FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. 



Teach the Children How to Care for their Health/ 

DR. BLAISDELL'S ELEMENTARY PHYSIOLOGY, 

HOW TO KEEP WELL. 

SHOWING IN EACH DIVISION OF THE SUBJECT THE EFFECTS OF 

ALCOHOLIC DRINKS, STIMULANTS, AND NARCOTICS 

ox 

THE HUMAN SYSTEM, 

^ITH SCIENTIFIC FORCE, ACCURACY, AND CAXJDOIt. 



This book is entirely new, and its leading purpose is to 
treat of the 

CARE AND PRESERVATION OF THE HEALTH. 



As a Health-Book it is replete with "hints and helps" 
regarding simple matters of e very-day health, with which 
every boy and girl should early become familiar. 

School officers uho wish to adopt a book that will return 
a hundred-fold its cost, in ''health suggestions" alone, to 
every pupil who uses them, should examine this work. 

The book contains some two hundred pages, and will well 
repay an examination. 



Price 42 cents net. 



Send for specimen pages, gratis. 



LEE AND SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. 

17 



Lee and Shepard's Popular Handbooks. 



Price, each, in Clotli, 50 cents, except when other Price is given. 



Handbook of Elocution Simplified. By Walter K. Fobes, witlj 
an Introduction by George M. Baker. 

Handbook of English Synonyms. With an Appendix, showing the 
Correct Use of Prepositions; also a Coliecliou of Foreign Phrases. By 
LooMis J. Campbell. 

Handbook of Conversation. Its Faults and its Graces. Coraiiiled by 
AndpvEW p. Peabody, D.I)., T.L.D. Comprising: (1) Dr. Peabody's 
Address; (2) Mr. Trench's Lecture; (3) Mr. Parry Gwynne's "A 
Word to the Wise: or, Hints on the Current Improprieties of Expression 
in Reading and Writing;" (4) Mistakes and Improprieties of Speaking 
and Writing Corrected. 

Handbook of Punctuation and other Typographical Matters. For 
the Use of Printers, Authors, Teachers, and [Scholars. By Marshall T. 
BiGELow, Corrector at the University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 

Handbook of Blunders. Designed to prevent 1,00U common blunders 
in writing and speaking. By Harlan H. Ballard, A.M., Principal of 
Lenox Academy, Lenox, Mass. 

Broken English. A Frenchman's Struggle in the English Language. 
Instructive as a handbook of French conversation. By Professor E. C. 
Dubois. 

Beginnings with the Microscope. A working handbook containing 
simple instructions in the art and method of using the microscope, and pre- 
paring articles for examination. By Walter P. Manton. 

Field Botany. A Handbook for the Collector. Containing instructions 
for gathering and preserving I'lauts, and the formation of an Herbarium. 
Also complete instructions in Leaf I'hotogra])hy, Plai.i Printing, and the 
Skeletonizing cf Leaves. By Walter P. Mamton. 

Taxidermy without a Teacher. Comprising a complete manual of 
instructions for Preparing and Preserving Birds, Animals, and Fishes, with 
a chapter on Hunting and Hygiene; together with instructions for Preserv- 
ing Eggs, and Making Skeletons, and a number of valuable recipes. By 
Walter P. Manton. 

Insects. How to Catch and how to Prepare them for the Cabinet. A 
Manual of Instruction for the Field-Xaturalist. By W. P. Manton. 

What is to be Done? A Handbook for the Nursery, with Useful 
Hints for Children and Adults. By Robert B. Dixon, M.D. 

Handbook of Wood Enacraving. With practical instructions in 
the art, for persons wishing to learn without an instructor. By William 
A.Emerson. Illustrated. Price $1.00. 

Five-Minute Recitations. Selected and arranged by Walter K. 
Fobes. 

Five-Minute Declamations. Selected and arranged by Walter 
Iv. Fobes. 



Special Terms to Teachers and Kducationalists. 



LEE AND SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. 

24 



Lee and Shepard's Popular Handbooks. 



Price, each, in Cloth, SO cents. 



The Hunter's Handbook. Containing lists of provisions and camp 
paraphernalia, and hints on the fire, cooking utensils, etc. ; with approved 
receipts for camp-cookery. By " An Old Hunter." 

Universal Phonography; or, Shorthand by the "Allen Method." A 
self-instructor. By G. G. Allen. 

Hints and Helps for those who Write, Print, or Read. By B. Drew, 
proof-reader. 

Pronouncing Handbook of Three Thousand Words often Mispro- 
nounced. By II. SouLE and L. J. Campbell. 

Short Studies of American Authors. By Thomas Wentworth 

IIlGGINSON. 

The Stars and the Earth; or, Thoughts upon Space, Time, and Eter- 
nity. With an introduction by Thomas Hill, D.D., LL.D. 

Handbook of the Earth. Natural Methods in Geography. By LouiSA 
Parsons Hopkins, teacher of Normal Methods in the Swain Free School, 
New Bedford. 

Natural-History Plays. Dialogues and Recitations for School Exhibi- 
tions. By Louisa P. Hopkins. 

The Telephone. An account of the phenomena of Electricity, Magne- 
tism, and Sound, with directions for making a speaking-telephone. By 
Professor A. E. Dolbear. 

Lessons on Manners. By Edith e. Wiggin. 

Water Analysis. A Handbook for Water-Drinkers. By G. L. Aus- 
tin, M.D. 

Handbook of Light Gymnastics. By Lucy B.Hunt, instructor in 
gymnastics at Smith (female) College, Northampton, Mass. 

The Parlor Gardener. A Treatise on the House-Culture of Ornamental 
Plants. By Cornelia J. Randolph. With illustrations. 

Whirlwinds, Cyclones, and Tornadoes. By William Morris 

Davis, Instructor in Harvard College. Illustrated. 

Practical Boat-Sailing. By Douglas Frazar. Classic size, $1.00. 
With numerous diagrams and illustrations. 



Discount to Teachers and School Officers. 



LEE AND SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. 

23 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 772 755 8 




